Artemis Fowl and The Magic World
by CaptainS10
Summary: When a mysterious girl shows up at Fowl Manor showing signs of strange powers, Artemis decides to dig into it and calls Holly for help. But he has no idea what he's getting himself into. What's going to happen this time?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"Mackenzie," Piper hissed under her breath. "It's leaving."

"I see that," Mackenzie said.

"Aren't we going to follow it?" Piper demanded.

"Not yet. I'm still waiting on Sam to call me back and tell me what kind of demon it is."

"Don't you know?"

"I have a hunch," the girl replied.

Then her phone rang. The girl picked it up and answered it quickly. "Sam?"

She paused, the groaned. "Alright. We'll deal with it. Bye, Sam." She looked at Piper and stood up. "Ignis Breather, level five. We have to take care of it."

Piper nodded. "Okay." Then she lowered her voice a couple notches. "What do you think it's doing here?"

"My best guess," said Mackenzie, "Is that this is a trap, and if we follow it we'll be walking right into it."

Piper rolled her eyes, she knew what was coming.

"But we're going to do it anyways."

Mackenzie grinned. "Exactly."

They walked through the woods for hours on end, carefully making their way through the trees as they tracked the demon. Then Mackenzie, who was leading, stopped, so suddenly Piper ran into her.

"Wait," she breathed. "It's stopped. We must be at the edge of the woods. Get ready to fight." Piper nodded.

They snuck up through the trees behind the demon. It was out in a clearing now, scenting the air. The wind was blowing down, so it couldn't be them that it smelled.

"It smells people," Mackenzie said. "Come on, we have to intercept it before it goes too far. It-"

Just then the demon let out a bloodcurdling scream, and charged off straight ahead.

Towards a mansion.

Mackenzie tensed. "I'll go left, you go right. We'll try to get it before it reaches the house, but if we can't, you go in the front door, I'll find a window and follow. Got it?"

Piper nodded. No time for words. They took off running.

The demon was already halfway across the field. It was easy to tell that trying to stop it before it hit the house was no good. They went right into Plan B.

The demon tore the front doors off their hinges. Piper followed it in.

Just about the time Piper entered the house, a boy appeared in a doorway to one of the other rooms.

The demon, smelling the flesh, turned and charged the boy. Piper quickly intercepted it; she drew her knife from her boot and jumped. She landed on its back. "What are you doing? Run!" she yelled at the boy. He didn't move. She sighed, frustrated.

The demon shook the girl off. Piper went flying through the air and hit the wall. Several somethings cracked.

But she didn't stop. "Mackenzie!" she yelled, crawling to her feet. "I could use a bit of help here!"

But Mackenzie was nowhere to be found.

Piper growled. The demon had last all interest in the boy for the moment, focusing now on the thing that was distracting it from its food. It rushed her, but she was ready for it. She stabbed the thing in the shoulder. It crumpled, and she jumped on it again, pinning it to the ground.

"Any last words, demon?" she spat.

"The Devil will come for you," the thing growled.

Piper rolled her eyes. "Yeah, like I haven't heard that before," she said, and stabbed it in the heart.

The like bucked, dislodging Piper, and made a bunch of high pitched keening noises. She hit the wall, and this time she didn't get back up. The demon, with one last breath, squealed one more time. Then it's eyes closed and it dissolved in a bright flash of red light. When the light disappeared, the body was no longer there.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Artemis Fowl the second was sitting in the kitchen of his house when a loud bang startled him. The sound was coming from the center hall.

He walked out just in time to see a girl appear in the doorway. She appeared to be about thirteen, and had long dark hair and brown eyes. She spared him one look, but then her eyes widened at the sight of a large thing in the hallway.

Artemis's eyes widened too, but he didn't move. Which was the wrong thing to do, it seemed, as then the thing saw him and charged.

The girl intercepted it by jumping on its back. They struggled with each other for a few minutes, then the thing shook the girl off and she flew into a wall. Several somethings cracked. Artemis winced; that had to hurt.

The girl stood up again. "Mackenzie!" she yelled, crawling to her feet. "I could use a bit of help here!"

But 'Mackenzie' didn't respond. The girl must have decided to just finished the thing on her own, because she didn't wait. A few seconds later, they were fighting again.

It went on for a few minutes, then the girl pinned the thing on the ground. "Any last words, demon?" she spat.

"The Devil will come for you," the thing growled.

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, like I haven't heard that before," she said, and stabbed it in the heart.

Artemis's eyes got wider. She just stabbed that thing, he thought. She killed it.

The girl was out cold now, having been chucked off by the demon again and it the wall. Artemis carefully approached her. He leaned over her and probed for a pulse. He found it. It was weak, but it was there. She needs help, h thought. She's injured. But he hesitated.

What if healing her wasn't such a good idea? After all, she had killed that thing mercilessly, and hadn't even blinked. What if he helped her and she tried to do the same to him?

Of course, he didn't consider that the thing had just tried to kill them both.

Artemis rubbed his temples and sighed, lifting the girl into his arms. It had to happen while Butler was out, he thought. This is what I get for trying to be nice.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

So what happened to Mackenzie? Why didn't she come when Piper yelled for her? The answer: she was ... busy.

She ran around the side of the house to find a window and sneak in behind the demon like she told Piper she was going to do. When she found a window, she opened it and slid over onto the sill. Then she went to drop down...

And got knocked off.

She flew backwards through the air, and hit the ground, hard. The person who had knocked her off shimmered back into the visible range.

"Devil," Mackenzie growled.

"You recognize me," he said. "You didn't seriously think I was gone, did you? You're smarter than that, Mackenzie. I know your father taught you better than that." He grinned. "Before he died, that is."

"Stop it! Don't talk about him! He's dead, and its your fault. You killed him."

"Oh, but see, you don't have any proof of that, my dear," said The Devil. "And no matter, as you will soon be joining him. Piper too, though I'm afraid the Ignis Breather in there will have to take care of her."

As if on cue, Mackenzie heard Piper yell from inside the building. "Mackenzie! I could use a bit of help here!"

Rage filled Mackenzie, bringing her resistance to the front in a few seconds flat, like someone throwing gasoline on a fire to make the flames grow. She bucked underneath him, trying to throw him off, and he laughed at her efforts.

"Your time is up, Mackenzie," he said. "You might as well give in."

"Never!" she yelled. She brought her knee up into his back, making him lose his grip and fall forward. She rolled out from under him and onto her feet.

He wasted no time getting to his feet as well. "You couldn't just die easy," he grumbled. "Gladius!" A sword appeared in his hand.

Mackenzie but her lip. Sword fighting had never been her strong suit, and she knew it. But it didn't look like she had a choice. "Gladius!" Her own sword appeared in her hand.

She advanced and swung overhand; he countered. He swung; she countered. They went on like this for a while.

Finally, she got in a good swing. He went for an overhand stroke, and she feinted a counter, instead dodging and swinging underhand. Her blow land on his side, leaving a good size cut and him gushing blood. A blow like that would be fatal, if The Devil could die. But just because he couldn't die didn't mean that he didn't feel pain.

He howled in pain and dropped his sword, moving back a few steps to examine the wound. Mackenzie took the opportunity took catch her breath.

The Devil looked up at her. "This isn't over, Mackenzie. You win this time, but I'll be back. You haven't seen the last of me."

And with that he, and his sword, disappeared in a red flash of light.

Mackenzie took a few steps back, then turned and ran as fast as she could towards the house.

She didn't bother to knock on one of the doors, they weren't there anymore. They had been torn of their hinges by the demon.

Other than that there didn't seem to be any sign of anything that had gone down here, except for the splatter of blood in the center of the hallway floor.

There was no sign of Piper either. She must of left so there was no chance of being caught after killing the demon, Mackenzie thought. I should go to the meeting place and see if she's there. She sighed, then turned and walked out of the manor.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Artemis took the girl upstairs and laid the girl on a bed in one of the many guest rooms in the manor.

He checked her for weapons, and came up with three pocket knives, a few bobby pins, and a stick that was shoved down in her boot. Other than that he came up clean. He took the knives and the stick, but left the bobby pins on the stand beside her. He didn't see how they could really hurt anything.

He walked out the room and pressed a button on his communicator ring, calling its counterpart ring. He only ever used the communicator to contact one person. Captain Holly Short of LEPrecon.

She answered on the third ring. "Artemis? Is something wrong?"

"How fast can you get to the manor?" he asked. "I think we might have a problem."

Holly knew better than to ask. "I'm on my way," she said. "Meet me outside the front doors in ten minutes."

The boy nodded. "Okay. Goodbye, Captain." He ended the call.

Ten minutes later, Holly alighted on the front steps. Artemis was standing there waiting for her.

"Okay, Mud Boy, what's the problem?"

"Come inside," he said. "I'll show you."

He took her inside and explained what had happened while the footage played out on the monitors. She listened quietly the whole time.

"So who are these Mud Girls?" she asked.

"I don't know," he answered. "But the thing is, I don't think they're human. That's why I called you."

"Do you have proof?" she asked. "That they're not human, I mean."

"Yes. The cameras that watch over the yard around the manor. While that was going on in here, this footage was coming through from out there." He pressed a button.

The footage played out. Artemis, who had already seen it, watched Holly to see her reaction. Her jaw dropped, and she sat back in her chair and put her head in her hands, shocked. Artemis stopped the footage.

Holly didn't move for a few minutes. Artemis reached over and touched her leg. "You okay?"

"Yeah, but I think I'm going into shock," Holly said.

"I take it that means you don't know what this is?" Artemis asked.

Holly shook her head. "I've never seen anything like it. She shows signs of powers that are way beyond anything the People could even dream of having. But what makes you think the two are connected?"

Artemis folded his arms. "I've got a few reasons. One: the two of them have an extreme resemblance. They are definitely related. Sisters, I'm willing to bet. Two: the man in the footage outside of the manor calls the one girl Mackenzie, the same name the girl inside called to for help. And three: if you look carefully at the beginning of the outside footage a few minutes before everything that went down in here, if you look at the edge of the trees behind the thing, and you can see them."

"About that thing. What did you say she called it again?"

"A demon."

"A demon," Holly repeated. "That is not the same kind of demon as N1, I can guarantee it. We got rid of all of them in on that island."

"Then what can it be?"

"I don't know, Artemis. I told you I've never seen anything like this before."

"Well," Artemis said, glancing at the monitor, "Lets go and find out."

"But she's sleeping!" Holly protested.

"Maybe it's better that way," Artemis said.

"But-"

"Besides," Artemis said, "She's awake. Look."

He pointed to the monitor. She nodded. "Fine, then. Let's go."

They walked upstairs. Artemis walked ahead of Holly, leading her up the stairs to the room where he had left the girl.

They went in. The girl was laying on the bed. Her eyes were closed, and she was pale, her skin was cold as ice to the touch.

"What the heck is wrong with her?" Holly demanded. "And I thought she you said she was awake."

"Didn't I mention that she was hurt?" Artemis asked. "Well, she is."

Holly sighed. "Okay. Okay. I'll see what I can do." She leaned over the girl, gently touching her hands to her forehead.

The girl jumped when Holly touched her. "No... " she whispered, her voice weak. "I..." Then she seemed to realize something, and she tried to sit up. "Mackenzie! Where..."

"Shhh, it's okay," Holly said, gently pushing her back down. "You're fine. It's okay, but you have to hold still."

"No! I have to find Mackenzie," the girl insisted.

She tried to sit up again, but Holly held her fast. "No. Your hurt. You need to lay still so I can heal you."

"Heal me?" she asked, confused.

"Yes," Holly said gently. "I have healing powers. I can heal you, but I need you to hold still."

"O-okay," the girl stuttered. She laid back down.

"Artemis, go get me a glass of water," Holly said. He nodded and headed back down the stairs. Holly turned back to the girl. "I'm not sure how serious your injuries are, so my magic might have to shut you down for recuperation."

"What does that mean?" she asked.

"It means you might pass out," Holly said. "Okay?"

She nodded. "Got it."

"Good." Holly laid her hands on her ribs and breathed, "Heal."

The girl's eyes rolled back in her head as the magic shut her down for recuperation, just like Holly told her it might. Her injuries must have been more serious than I thought, Holly thought.

Holly felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see Artemis standing over her, holding the requested glass of water. She took it and set it down on the nightstand beside the girl. "She'll want it when we wakes up."

For a moment they sat there and watched they girl, watching as the blue sparks zipped around her, targeting the areas in need. It took quite a while, longer than it should have, but eventually they dissipated. It took so long that the girl was already beginning to stir.

She opened her eyes. Holly was kneeling beside her, Artemis was still standing behind her.

"Can I ask you your name now?" Holly asked.

"Piper," the girl said, sitting up. "Where am I?"

Artemis answered that question. "Fowl Manor, in Dublin, Ireland."

"Where's Mackenzie?"

"I believe she went to look for you," Artemis said.

"Oh," Piper said.

"So," Artemis asked, "Do you mind if we asked you a few questions?"

"You don't have to answer them if you don't want to," Holly assured her.

"I- Um... Sure, I guess."

Artemis sat down on the edge of the bed at her feet. "What was that... thing... that you killed?"

"A demon," Piper said. "A very high level demon, I might add. Level five."

"What kind of demon? And how would you separate them into levels?"

"Artemis, don't interrogate her," Holly chided. "It's rude."

"No," Piper said. "It's fine, really. I don't mind answering a few questions." She turned back to Artemis. "The demon was an Ignis Breather, or Fire Breather in English. And they're leveled by how strong their magic is."

"Do you have magic?" he pressed.

She was caught off guard by the question, but she answered it anyways. "Yes."

"Can I see?" Artemis asked.

"Yes. Wait, no." she said, upon reaching down to find her wand was no longer in her boot. "I can't do any magic without my wand, because I'm still learning, I need it to do anything that requires too much power. And my amulet is gone, so I can't use any power I have saved in it." She sighed. "I'm powerless right now."

"Your wand, is that what that stick you had shoved down in your boot was?" Artemis asked.

"Yes." Piper looked at him hopefully. "Do you know where it is?"

"I took it," Artemis admitted.

"Artemis!" Holly exclaimed.

But he wasn't done. "I took your knives too," he said. "They're downstairs in the monitor room, sitting on the desk. I take it you want those back?"

"That would be nice," she admitted. "One question though. If you only took my knives and my wand, where's my amulet?"

There was silence for a minute. "Did you have it when you came in?" Artemis asked.

Piper thought for a moment. "I think so."

"Then it's probably out in the main hall somewhere," Artemis said.

"Okay," Holly said. "Then lets go look for it."

It was laying on the floor in the hallway by the door, the chain on it snapped.

Piper made a face when she saw the break. "Humph. At least I can fix it with my wand," she said. Pulling the wand that Artemis had returned to her out of her boot, she pointed it at the necklace and said, "Instauraretis." The tip of the wand shot out a spark, and chain link reconnected with a click.

Holly nudged Artemis's arm. "What the heck does that mean?"

Artemis sighed. "It's Latin for repair."

"Oh."

Piper turned to look at them. "Now, how about that demonstration? Did you still want one?"

Artemis and Holly looked at each other. "Yeah," she said. "Definitely."

Piper grinned. "Cool. Finally a chance for me to blow off some magical steam. Follow me."

She led them outside into the yard, moving into the middle of it where it was clear and open. "Stand back," she warned. Holding her wand above her head in the air, she yelled, "Luminum! Scintillas arcus coloratum!" Bright colored sparks shot out of the tip of her wand in flashes of light.

"Lights. Rainbow colored sparks," Artemis translated to Holly, though she didn't seem to hear. She was watching the sky. It was truly a beautiful sight. It looked like someone had set off a bunch of fireworks, and the after affects were even prettier.

Piper kept it up for a few minutes, but then she stopped, turning to look at them. "What do you think?"

"Amazing," Holly said.

"Thanks," Piper said. She walked over to them.

"So, will you be staying here tonight?" Artemis asked her.

"If its okay with you, I was thinking about it," Piper said.

"What about you, Captain? I think it's a little late to have to fly back to the shuttle port."

"Oh, shut up, Mud Boy," Holly muttered. "It's not like I can't see."

"Still," Artemis said. "Is that a yes or a no?"

"Yes, Artemis, of course. Now get inside before you get pneumonia."

"I'm not going to get pneumonia," Artemis said, scowling, but he did as he was told. Piper snickered, and Artemis threw her a warning glance. She returned the glance with a look like whatchya gonna do about it? He said nothing.

Holly went straight up to the room she always slept in when she stayed at the manor, ( not including the first time ) and Artemis showed Piper her room.

"This room here adjoins to a bathroom, so it's there if you need it. I can bring you in a set of clothes if you want to take a shower."

"Okay," Piper said. "Thank you."

He nodded. "It's the least I can do. After all, you did keep that thing from killing me earlier."

Piper shrugged. "That's nothing. Just my job."

"So," he said, sitting on the bed beside her, "Do you do stuff like that every day?"

"Yeah, unfortunately," she sighed.

"Oh," Artemis said. "So, if you don't mind me asking, what exactly are you?"

Piper looked at him. "I'm a witch, Artemis," she said. "A young and inexperienced one, but one all the same."

Artemis stared at her. "No way."

Piper nodded indulgently. "I figured I'd get that reaction."

Artemis smiled. "Well, you don't exactly look the part," he said. "People's typical stereotype picture of a witch is an old hag with green skin and warts. You don't look anything like that."

"Gee, thanks," Piper said, rolling her eyes. "Most people do have the wrong idea. We don't look anything like the pictures they create of us in their minds. Mackenzie has a a theory that since humans are afraid of us, and most consider us evil, that's what they base their pictures off of. What they would expect an evil witch to look like. Fortunately, most of us aren't evil, though there are some..." Piper trailed off. "We'll, lets just say not all of us are as nice as my sister and I."

Artemis nodded. "Of course not. There's always bound to be a few rogue ones."

"Yeah," Piper agreed. "Though I think completely nuts is closer to the mark." She sighed and rubbed her face warily, and Artemis seemed to realize something.

"I'm keeping you from getting to sleep," he said, standing up. "Please excuse me. I'll go get those clothes and leave them on the stand in here. I'll be back in a few minutes."

"Okay," Piper said around a yawn. "I don't think I'll be needing anything else. Goodnight then."

He nodded and walked out of the room. Piper immediately curled up in a ball on the bed and laid down. I'll need my rest, she thought. "Goodnight, Mackenzie," she whispered, as if the girl could hear her. Then she closed her eyes, and fell right to sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Mackenzie, though she couldn't hear Piper, was certainly thinking about her. She was practically going nuts searching for her lost sibling.

She was pacing the room when Sam walked in. He bowed deeply. "Oh, none of that from you, " she snapped, turning to him. "Have you heard anything from her?"

"No," Sam said, shaking his head. "And I can't sense her either. Any idea why?"

Sam, being Piper's protector, had certain powers that allowed him to sense her. Usually, these powers would allow him to sense where she was and if she was alright. But there was exceptions to every rule.

"There's a few reasons that could be," Mackenzie said. "One: she is somewhere with a magical history; if some big event happened there with magic involved, there would be magical residue all over the place. That could cause an interference."

"What else?"

"There are two other options. Number two: she's in the Underworld. Three..." She swallowed hard. "She's dead. That's the last option."

"That's it?"

"That's it," she confirmed.

"Oh. Well-" he was cut off by a knock at the door.

Mackenzie sighed and rubbed her eyes. She walked over and put her hand on the door handle, but didn't turn the knob. "You can stay, if you'd like," she said.

Sam shook his head. "Nah. I have a meeting to go to anyways. I just thought I'd stop beforehand and talk to you."

"Okay," Mackenzie sighed. "Be careful. Bye, Sam."

He nodded and she opened the door. Pushing past the waiting people, he disappeared.

Mackenzie sighed again. "Come on in."

The people piled in. There was the commander of their armed military forces they had, Mr. Sin, and his daughter, Silver. Then there was the head of the Missing People's Department's daughter, Shaadia. Her father, Mr. Kane, the actual head of the department, was bedridden with an illness. His condition was stable, and he was getting better, but he still wouldn't be on his feet for a while.

"Okay," Mr. Sin said, "Can we get on with this? I think we're all here."

Mackenzie nodded. "Of course. Have a seat."

They all sat. "So what's this I hear about a war coming?" Mr. Sin asked.

"Ohh, a war," Shaadia said. "Finally we'll get to have some fun, right, Silver?"

"Yeah," Silver said. "I can't wait to try out this new spell I just learned. I think I've for it down now. I-"

"Daughter," Mr. Sin interrupted. "Please. You are only half witch. Trying to push your powers too hard would not be good for you, especially stuff as powerful as battle spells."

"I can still use a sword," Silver grumbled. "And my poisons are the strongest in the queendom. I can still be of help."

Before he could say anything back to that, Mackenzie interrupted. "There is no guarantee it will come to war," she said. "But if the Devil has her, he won't give her back easy."

"Did you ever consider it could be humans?" Silver asked. "They can be just as bad as the Devil if they want to be. Or worse, for that matter."

Mr. Sin frowned, as did Mackenzie. "I don't know," Mackenzie said, unsure and more than a little unnerved.

"Silver is right," Shaadia said. "Think about it. You chased and cornered it at a human's house. While you were distracted, Piper was inside. You don't know whether anyone was home or not. Piper easily could have been discovered and apprehended, especially if she was injured, which is likely considering what she was fighting. A level five Ignis Breather, with her training? She's lucky to have survived at all."

"She's not dead," Mackenzie said, through gritted teeth. "She can't be dead."

"But she is nowhere to be found, even if she is alive," Shaadia said. "It's a rational conclusion."

Mackenzie closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. "What are you suggesting?"

Silver, who had already picked up Shaadia's line of thinking, answered for her. "Send out someone to search for her," she suggested. "Shaadia and I could go."

"I'd feel better only sending one of you," Mackenzie said. "I can't risk too many of you, especially if the Devil does have her. He would know that people are out looking for her. It could be a trap."

"But, in the same sense, if it is a trap, two people have a better chance of overcoming it than one," Silver said.

"And if you can't, it's two people that I'll lose instead of one," Mackenzie argued.

They glared at each other for several minutes, and Mackenzie finally relented. "If you promise to both come back in one piece, I suppose you can both go. That is, as long as its okay with you, Mr. Sin," she added quickly.

"Of course," he said. "As long as its approved by you, I don't mind. I know you only make the decisions that you believe are the best for our people. You wouldn't put my daughter in danger without good reason."

Mackenzie stood and shook his hand. "I'm glad you have so much faith in me, Mr. Sin," she said. Then she looked at the two girls. "You should probably get going."

Shaadia nodded. "Yeah Come on, Sil, lets hit the road."

The girl nodded. "Lets."

The girls stepped out of the castle's boundaries and opened a temporary portal into the mortal world. Mackenzie had given them direction on how to get there and what to do when they did, so they wouldn't get lost and they wouldn't cause any problems. But they had a different plan; they'd follow the directions on how to get there, but when they got there they were going to do it their way.

They stepped out of the portal into the human's yard. Mackenzie's instructions from here were clear: search the house and the surrounding area, and report to back to her. If they found Piper, they were supposed to grab her and go.

The thought they were ready. They had anything they might need in the case of having to fight any mortals or any demons the Devil had lying in wait.

Of course, when they stepped into the clearing behind they house, they were feeling pretty confident. Until they saw what was going on in the front yard. The only thing they weren't prepared for...


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The next morning, Artemis, Holly, and Piper met up in the front yard.

Holly smiled when the cool morning Irish air hit her face. She breath deeply. "It feels good out here," Piper said.

Artemis nodded. "The weather is nice, though it is a little foggier then usual."

For a moment they all stood there, but then Piper sighed. "I should be going soon," she said. "Mackenzie will be worried about me."

"Mackenzie seems a little...overprotective," Artemis noted. "At least to me, from hearing your descriptions."

"She is, but she's reasonable. Most of the time, anyways," Piper said.

"And she has good reason," Holly said. "We live in a dangerous world."

"You have no idea," Piper said.

"Oh, yeah I do," Holly said. "Artemis too, partly anyways. He doesn't have nearly the experience I do, though he certainly has some experience."

"All my experience hasn't been on my own though," Artemis admitted to Piper. "Holly was there with me through all of it, even when there was complications."

"It's going to take a lot more that a few complications to stop me," Holly said.

Artemis snorted. "Yeah. I've figured that out already."

"You ought to have by now, Mud Boy."

Piper smiled and rolled her eyes. "Sounds like you two have known each other for a while."

"Yeah," Holly agreed. "Hmm.. You were, what, twelve the first time?"

Artemis nodded, but said nothing. His throat was suddenly dry. He wondered if Holly would notice.

She noticed. "Relax, Mud Boy. I didn't bring it up to embarrass you. It was years ago. I'm over it."

Artemis nodded, but still didn't speak.

Piper couldn't hold back her curiosity. "What? Over what?"

Holly cleared her throat. "We had an, erm, misunderstanding a while back. But it was a long time ago. Mud Boy over here is still struggling to get over it, though I'm not. I'm over it, but unfortunately he still has yet to figure it out." She looked at Artemis pointedly.

He nodded, but he still looked uncomfortable. "Right," he said. "Can we talk about something else now?"

Piper sighed. "Humans are so emotional sometimes. Why don't I give you two a few minutes to talk it over?" Without waiting for an answer, she said, "Come find me when your done." Then she walked away, leaving Artemis and Holly staring after her.

Artemis groaned. "Humans are emotional? Humans? She is more emotional than you are!"

The elf snorted. "Your calling me emotional? Hey genius, I'm not the one freaking out here."

Artemis blanched. "I am not freaking out."

Holly crossed her arms. "You almost started hyperventilating, I saw it." When he opened his mouth to object, she held up her hand. "Artemis, you seriously need to forget about it. Why don't you just act like it never happened? You-"

"I can't act like it never happened, Holly," he said, stepping forward and bending down to the elf's height. "I can't act like any of it never happened. If I lost those memories, it would be like losing a part of myself. These things made me who I am, the good and the bad. You have to understand, as long as I carry these memories, I will carry my guilt for all the bad things I've done to you and the People. But I will also carry my happiness and my feelings for all the good things as well. And one thing is connected to another. So you see, if I were to forget one thing, I would forget everything." He rested his hands on the elf's shoulders. "And I don't want to do that."

"But you still at least need to not act so weird about it when it's brought up," Holly said. "And I know that it's not all of it, that you'd probably still feel weird even if I wasn't here, but I think that part of the problem is that you don't like talking about it around me because you don't want upset me or what ever it is you're afraid of."

"Holly, I'm trying, really. But it's not as easy as it looks. I just can't put something that big to the side, even for a little while. And yes, maybe that is part of it. I just don't want to hurt you."

"You know what hurts me, Artemis? Seeing you like this. Watching you beat yourself up over nothing. That hurts me. It drives me insane on a regular basis, and mostly because I know that I can't help you." She looked at him, meeting his eyes. "This time, you have to help yourself. If you really don't want to hurt me, then you'll let yourself off the hook and forget about it." Even before she finished that sentence he was shaking his head. She leaned in closer to him, until their faces were inches apart. "Please," she whispered. "For me."

He opened his mouth to answer, but he didn't get the chance. She moved in more, closing the distance, and pressed her lips into his. Trying to prove her words, she let all her pain, happiness, everything she was feeling flow out into the kiss. She reached her small arms up and wrapped them around his neck, pulling him further into it.

He pulled back gently. "Holly," he whispered.

She leaned in and rested her forehead against his. "What?" she asked softly. Then a thought struck her. "Don't tell me. You don't feel the same, do you? Oh, Artemis, I-"

He quickly reached up and covered her mouth. "No. I mean, I do. It's just that now is not the time or the place for this. We'll talk about this later. But right now we need to find Piper."

He had no idea how right he was.

For he said this just as a bloodcurdling scream filled the air.

He looked at Holly, and their eyes met. "I take that back," he said. "We need to find Piper now."

"No duh, Mud Boy," Holly growled, drawing her Neutrino. "Lets go."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Piper walked away from them, leaving them standing there staring at her. She smirked to herself as she walked around the side of the manor. Their friendly relationship obviously leaves something to be desired by both of them, she thought, amused. She couldn't fathom why they would have stay friends for so long, when they both, quite obviously it seemed to her, wanted something more. They were both just too blind to see that the other felt the same way.

She walked to the other side of the manor, looking out over the fog covered field that seemed to stretch on for miles. She stared out into the fog, lost in thought.

She was shocked out of her reverie by a hand on her shoulder. She was yanked back into someone, her head jerking backwards. For some reason, the moment she was pressed back, she was sweating instantly. It was for this reason precisely that she figured out who it was instantly. She did the first thing that came to mind.

She screamed as loud as she could.

An arm pressed down on her throat, cutting short the scream as she lost the ability to breathe.

"Now now, Piper, I would have expected more from you," the Devil said. Piper didn't answer. She couldn't. "But no matter, by the time your little friends get over here, it will be too late." He leaned in close, so that he was practically breathing into her ear. "You'll already be dead."

"Keep dreaming," she managed to choke out, and kicked him with as much force as she could muster, right in the kneecap.

Unfortunately, it wasn't enough. He just smiled. "Maybe Mackenzie was strong enough to beat me, but you'll never be able to without help, so you might as well give it up. I suppose since I'm going to kill you in a few seconds anyways, I can let you breathe for the moment," he murmured, and the pressure on her throat released a fraction. He laughed as she gasped, taking in as much air as she could in a few deep breaths. He let to of her and threw her to the ground, just as a couple of charges sank into his back.

He growled and spun around. Holly and Artemis were standing behind him, Holly with her gun in her hand. When he saw them, he laughed. Then he down looked at Piper, who was still on the ground, incredulously. "This is your backup? I would have expected more from the great Mackenzie's little sister." He laughed again and flicked his hand at them, and they flew back into the brick wall of the manor.

"Leave them alone," Piper growled.

"Yeah," a voice from behind her said. "Hasn't anyone ever told you? Pick on someone your own size."

Everyone looked around. Standing behind them was Shaadia and Silver. Shaadia was the one who had spoken. Silver stepped forward and held out her hand. "Need a hand, Pipes?"

"Don't call me 'Pipes', " Piper snapped. "But yeah, a hand would be nice."

The Devil laughed again. "What a nice reunion. Now you you can all die together."

Piper made a face. "Well, you have to ruin everything, don't you?" Without looking back at them, she murmured, "We need a plan."

"Right," Silver muttered. "Luckily we can prepared. Plan B, Shaadia."

The girl nodded. "What's Plan B?" Piper asked.

"Easy," Shaadia said. "What we agreed to do should a situation we weren't prepared for come up." She looked at Silver, and they girls said in unison, "Attack."

Silver drew her sword a lashed out, cutting a slash across the Devil's chest. The Devil, surprised and gushing blood from his wound, stumbled and fell back. "Get them out of the way," Piper commanded. "I don't want them getting hurt." Shaadia nodded and rushed over to the unconscious human and elf and moved them to safety. Then she threw Piper an extra sword and the advanced, joining Silver, who was standing a few feet from the Devil. Piper stepped forward.

"Leave now," she said, her voice steely. "Or face the consequences."

The Devil grinned and shook his head, sitting up. His wound was already healing its self. "What consequences? You can't kill me, and the three of you together wouldn't be strong enough to anyhow. Face it, any way it goes you will be defeated. You might as well forget this useless fight and take your death with some dignity left intact."

Shaadia kicked him in the ribs as hard as she could. She may have been just a kid, but she was a extremely well in shape one, and a few of the Devil's ribs snapped on impact. "You may be unkillable, but you sure as heck aren't unharmable," she spat. "And even if we do lose, we will go down fighting."

"Oh, she thinks she's tough," the Devil laughed. "Just for that, witch, I'm killing you first." He jumped to his feet.

"Not on my watch," Silver growled, and swept his feet out from under him. He landed on the ground. He started to get back up, but Piper swung at him with her own sword and left another big gash on his back. He fell forward.

"Come on," Piper told them. "Lets get out of here." She ran over and scooped up the elf in her arms, then pointed to Artemis. "I can't carry him. One of you get him."

Shaadia and Silver looked at each other. "I have to open the portal," Shaadia said. Silver sighed, then walked over and hoisted the unconscious boy into her arms. "Lets go."

Shaadia said the spell to open their temporary portal back up, and the girls walked through. The last thing they heard before the portal closed behind them was the Devil's angry roar.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Holly and Artemis ran around the of the manor, running in the direction of the sound.

When they made it around the other side, it was easy to tell why Piper had screamed. A man had her pinned against him with his forearm, cutting off her air supply. Her face was already turning red. He laughed and threw her to the ground. She kept herself from getting a face full of dirt, but just barely.

Holly raised her gun and sank a few charges into the man's back.

He growled and spun

around to face them. He laughed again when he saw them. "This is your backup? I would have expected more from the great Mackenzie's little sister."

Holly and Artemis exchanged a look, like, what? but they didn't have much much time to think about it, because the man flicked his hand at them and the flew backwards, crashing into the brick wall of the manor.

Everything went black.

Holly woke up in a room she didn't recognize, lying with her head on Artemis' chest. He had his arm around her, cradling her close as she slept. He himself was awake.

He smiled slightly when he saw she was awake, but said nothing. "Where are we?" she asked him.

He shook his head. "I've got no idea. The last thing I remember was hitting the side of the manor. I woke up here, with you lying next to me. I have no recollection of how we got here or who brought us here, and I'm not exactly sure I want to find out."

"Artemis Fowl turning down knowledge," Holly murmured. "That's a new one."

He rolled his eyes, but otherwise ignored the comment. "What I would like to know is whether we are prisoners or guests."

"Yeah," Holly muttered. "Who got us and brought us here? Piper or the other guy? Or someone else? I started out the only LEP officer to get held hostage once, and now I'm going to be the only officer to get held hostage twice. If recon ever finds out about this, I might as well kiss my job goodbye." She sighed. "That's assuming we get out of this alive and get the chance to tell them about it."

Artemis frowned. "Don't be such a pessimist. We don't even know for sure that we are prisoners. And even if we are, I will think of something. I always do."

Holly sighed again. "I know. But still..." She paused and looked up at Artemis. "I mean... What if our luck has finally run out? We've always been able to think up these crazy, stupidly dangerous plans to get out of whatever mess we are in at the time. But it's like I told you before, I've got no idea what we're dealing with, and neither do you. What if... What if we've finally found something too powerful for us to beat?"

Artemis sighed and pulled the elf into his arms. She was so tiny that they completely encased her. Holly let him, burying her face in his chest and staying there as he stroked her hair soothingly. "Don't worry," he murmured into her ear. "We'll be okay. I'll think of something." She nodded, but didn't say anything.

They stayed there like that until Artemis became aware that she had fallen asleep again. Probably head trama, he decided as he laid her down on the bed beside him. He leaned in close and gently pressed his lips to her forehead. She stirred, but didn't wake. He laid there beside her as she slept, watching her. It may seem creepy, but there was something comforting to him about watching his friend sleep. Maybe it was that she seemed so peaceful when she was sleeping. A little bit of peace in this big chaotic thing called life.

A little while later, she stirred again, and her eyes opened. "Arty?" she whispered.

Normal Artemis would get mad about being called 'Arty', because he really hated it when people called him that, but this time he let it slide. "It's okay, Holly, I'm here."

She sighed with relief. "Okay." She scooted a little closer to him, and he opened his arms, pulling her in close to him. "Well," she murmured into his neck, "At least if we have to be prisoners, we get to be prisoners together."

He chuckled softly in agreement, just as a voice behind them said, "Prisoners? Who said anything about prisoners?"

Holly lifted her head from Artemis' shoulder to look at the visitor the same time he craned his neck around to look at him. There was a boy standing in the doorway, looking at them. He looked confused, and a little taken aback. "Why would you be prisoners?"

"Why wouldn't we be?" Holly muttered.

"Holly," Artemis warned, his voice low.

The boy stepped forward. "I'm not quite sure why you would think you were prisoners, but just to clarify, you're guests, not prisoners."

"I told you," Artemis murmured into Holly's ear.

"Shut up, Mud Boy," Holly said, sitting up. "So, how long have we actually been here?" she asked the boy.

"Two days," he said. "You hit that wall pretty hard, and your injuries were pretty serious. You woke up a couple of times, but we had to knock you guys back out to finish treating you. Trust me, you would not have wanted to be awake for that."

"How bad were we?" Artemis asked.

"You were half dead," the boy said. Then he pointed to Artemis. "You were bleeding internally. Your girlfriend, on the other hand, actually wasn't that bad. You took way more work than she did. It was like she healed herself while she was unconscious."

Artemis and Holly exchanged a glance. That was exactly what had happened. Of course, how they were going to tell him that would be the problem.

They were saved from trying to explain that away when a new voice said, "Sam? What's taking so long? You were supposed to see if they were awake, and I don't think that takes ten minutes." A girl appeared in the doorway, behind the boy.

Sam sighed. "It does when they start asking questions." He gestured to them, and that's when the girl seemed to notice them.

"Oh, I see. They're awake."

"Yes."

"Well, why didn't you just say so?" She looked at them. "Do you guys need anything?"

"I would like to know where we are," Holly admitted.

"And how we got here, and why," Artemis added. Typical.

The girl sighed. "Where's Piper?" she asked Sam.

"How should I know?"

"Well, she's only your girlfriend. I would have thought you would at least have some idea of where she's at." She rolled her eyes and looked at Artemis and Holly again. "Just come with me. I think I might know where she's at."

Holly nodded, quickly climbing to her feet. Artemis was right behind her. She slipped her hand into his, and together they followed the girl from the room.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

The girl stopped in front of a door a few hallways down. She knocked loudly. "Mackenzie," she called. "Open up."

"Just a sec!" A few seconds later, the door swung open. A girl was standing in the doorway. She was an older version of Piper. The girl from the outside footage. Mackenzie. "What?"

"Where's Piper?"

"In here," Mackenzie said. "I wanted to ask her a few questions about-" she stopped. She had just noticed Artemis and Holly. "Never mind. It's not important. Come on in." She moved to let them through.

Artemis and Holly went through, but the girl didn't follow. "I have things to do," she said to Mackenzie. "With your permission, I'll take my leave now."

Mackenzie nodded. "Go on. I'm sure I'll be answering an avalanche of questions for about the next hour, so you know where I'll be if you need me." The girl nodded and left, and Mackenzie turned to them. "Come on. Piper's in here."

She led them back, out of the room they were currently in, through a doorway in the back of the room.

Piper was sitting on the bed when they entered, her face buried in papers. When she heard the door open, she started to ask, "Hey Mackenzie, do you know if Sam went and checked on them yet?" When Mackenzie didn't answer, she glanced up from her papers. "Mackenzie?" Then she saw Artemis and Holly. "Oh."

"Yeah," Mackenzie muttered. "Oh."

Ignoring the comment, Piper turned back to the new couple. "Are you guys feeling better?"

"I'm fine," Holly said. "Though if one of you could tell me when the next full moon is, that would be helpful."

Piper and Mackenzie exchanged a glance. "The next full moon..." Artemis mused. "Tomorrow night, I believe."

Everyone looked at him. "Yes," Mackenzie confirmed. "Tomorrow night. Why?"

Now it was Artemis and Holly's turn to exchange a glance. "Are you going to tell them?" Artemis asked, his voice low.

"I don't see any other option," Holly replied. "I healed her; she deserves to know how. And besides, she told us what she was. And she saved our lives. Well, yours, at any rate."

"Still, Holly, are you sure? I mean, are you sure they aren't threats to the People?"

She met his eyes, and saw nothing there but concern. She opened her mouth to answer, but Mackenzie cut her off.

The girl cleared her throat. "I don't know who 'the People' are, but they need not feel threatened by us. Our kind, at least, everyone in this castle, are peace loving people. We fight for good. Unless they were to threaten us, we would not threaten them."

Holly looked at Artemis.

"That's strictly true," Piper added. "Though depending on the situation, we do have some with personal vendettas."

Now Artemis looked at Holly. In both situations, it was easy to tell that they were both thinking the same thing, which is why they were looking at each other.

The looks didn't go unnoticed. Piper raised her eyebrows. "Alright, spill," she commanded. "You're obviously hiding something."

Mackenzie smiled. "I smell a good story."

"Maybe not good," Holly murmured. "A story, definitely. But 'good' is not exactly the word I would use to describe it. Not to mention the fact that it would be stories, not story, unless you wanted to hear just the first one."

"Okay, so stories," Mackenzie corrected herself. "Are you going to tell us these stories?"

"Maybe," Holly said. "Did you want to hear them?"

Both girls looked at each other, then back at them with huge smiles on their faces. "Yes," they said in unison.

"Okay," Holly agreed. Then she looked at Artemis. "That is… If you're okay with it."

Everyone in the room seemed to hold their breath as Artemis cocked his head, thinking, watching her carefully. Then he said, "If its okay with you, I'm fine with it."

She looked up at him. "Are you sure, Artemis?"

He knelt down, taking the elf's chin and pulling her head up to meet his eyes. "I'm positive," he promised.

The elf nodded and threw her arms around the human. "Okay, Arty," she said into his skin.

Piper cleared her throat. "Is anybody hungry? It is almost lunch time."

"Yeah," Mackenzie said. "Come on into the kitchen. You can tell the story over lunch."

The two agreed, and they left the room.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Before they even finished the first part of the story, Holly could have swore Piper was going into shock. She sure looked like it. Mackenzie, on the contrary, looked as calm and emotionless as ever. The look on here face reminded Holly of Artemis.

Holly herself listened closely as Artemis told his parts of the story, as Artemis had never told her his side before. He seemed embarrassed at times, but nevertheless continued to talk. Holly jumped in at times and told her side when it came to certain incidents. They took turns narrating.

The girls listened patiently, except for a minor interruption when it came to the part about the kidnaping. Then Mackenzie cut in.

"Whoa," Mackenzie interrupted, raising her hand as a signal for silence. "He," she pointed to Artemis as she said this, "Kidnaped you." She switched her finger to Holly now. "How can you trust him? How could you even bring yourself to be sitting next to him now?"

"Artemis earned my trust," Holly snapped. "He has done a lot for me, more than enough to make up for that incident. We're friends now, and I would trust Artemis with my life." She paused. "Again."

Mackenzie raised her eyebrows. "Again?"

Before she could answer, Piper sat bolt upright in her chair. "That's it! That's what you guys were talking about!"

"Piper, what on earth are you talking about?" Mackenzie demanded.

"At the manor," Holly explained, "Artemis and I had a… brief argument about this topic, without being too specific. Needless to say, it kind of confused Piper. She apparently just figured out what the topic was."

"Ah," Mackenzie said. Piper nodded. "Can we continue with the story now?" Artemis asked impatiently. Mackenzie nodded and motioned for him to go on.

They continued without further interruption after that until they finished the story. Holly completed it, up until the part about Root and retrieval throwing up all over their boots and figuring out that Artemis and company were still alive.

For a moment after she finished the room was silent. Piper still looked shocked, while Mackenzie was sizing Artemis up again, as if she decided to review whatever decision she had made about him, as it apparently wasn't true. Holly didn't blame her. Even after all this time, she still wasn't completely sure what to make of him herself.

"You said he earned your trust," Mackenzie said suddenly, turning to Holly. "May I ask how?"

"He saved my life and the lives of all the people in Haven," Holly stated. "I figured that was enough to say that he wasn't such a bad person. And that was only the first time." Holly leveled her with one of her signature looks. "Look, it's your decision whether you trust Artemis or not. I do, and I'm generally a good judge of people. If that, the fact he has made it up to me a million times over, and the fact that he helped your sister aren't enough to convince you of his trustworthiness, I don't know what is." And on that note, she stood up and said, "now, we really should be going. Kelp is going to be ticked when I get back to Police Plaza, and no doubt your family is worried sick about you, Artemis."

"You can't leave," Piper said, jumping up. "The Devil saw you with me, and you even shot at him, Holly. He'll come after you! And you!" She pointed to Artemis. "And if he wants you, he will find you."

Holly waved her hand dismissively. "He won't find me. I don't even live on the surface."

"You live… underground?" Mackenzie choked. "That's worse than the surface! Underground is his territory. You go down there, you are dead, so you understand that? Dead. You have a better chance up here than down there."

Holly face palmed. "Oh great. What about Haven? All my belongings, my friends, my job, my whole life is down there. I can't just not go back."

"You have to not go back," Mackenzie insisted. "At least until we can get something worked out. Don't you have any connections up here?"

Holly pointed at Artemis. "Him. That's it."

"Oh, great." She looked at him. "Can't she stay with you until we can sort this out?"

"Of course," Artemis said, nodding. "Holly is always welcome at Fowl Manor."

"There," said Mackenzie, turning back to her, "you're set. I'll send somebody down to Haven to get what you'll need for your stay. Though it might end up being for quite a while…" She paused. "Either way, it's best for you to stay here tonight." She held up a hand to stall their arguments. "I know you've already been here for awhile, you're families are worried about you and all that. Tomorrow Piper and I will take you back to them, put up some protection measures. In the meantime, you can call them tonight, tell them you're fine and you'll be home soon. Fair?"

Artemis and Holly looked at each other. For a moment, the two battled wills. Holly was ready to leave, and she didn't want to be here a minute longer. Artemis, on the other hand, thought a good nights rest before they returned wouldn't kill them.

After a minute, Holly finally relented. She shrugged, though she was inwardly fuming.

Piper beamed. "Great! Come on, I'll show you to your rooms. Wait," she said, pausing halfway out the door, "do you want separate rooms, or do you want to room together?" The look Holly gave her answered that question. "Okay, never mind then," she murmured, walking out the door. Holly looked around one last time before following her out, Artemis right behind her.

**Sorry for the long wait! Shorter than I would have liked, but something is better than nothing, right? :) I've been kind of preoccupied lately... :P But, I hope to update a bit faster next time, so if you want it, be watching!**


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